#SCOTUS, Dec. 6, 2018, a rare Thursday argument day. 
First take out of Gamble v. US: There’s only a very narrow (and unlikely) path for five votes to overturn the current and longstanding rule allowing for dual prosecutions from different sovereigns (as in this case, Alabama and the federal government).
Justices Ginsburg & Thomas had previously suggested the court should re-examine this issue, & they were joined today by Justice Gorsuch in skeptically questioning the federal gov’t (and Texas) defenses of the rule. The Chief Justice had some skeptical questions for both sides.
The fifth vote, of it exists, would almost certainly have to come from Justice Sotomayor, who was mostly silent today. Justices Kagan, Kavanaugh, Alito, and (at least by the end of argument) Breyer appeared unpersuaded by Gamble’s argument to bar dual prosecutions.
Sotomayor only spoke up once — in a portion of Gamble’s lawyer’s argument — and part of what she said then was that he hadn’t “really explained” how the court’s prior “logic [in allowing dual prosecutions] isn’t sensible.” So, it would seem like she was not won over either.
My hot take: A lot of people have been quite worked up over this case, assuming partisanship that just was not present at today’s arguments. It’s important, and the issues could be relevant to Trump-related matters, but it’s not the “Kavanaugh is a plant” case some are saying.
Here's my report from today's arguments in Gamble v. US —> #SCOTUS Wrestles With Whether States And Feds Can Prosecute A Person For The Same Crime buzzfeednews.com/article/chrisg…
